Black Wall Street
Today, I want to celebrate the pioneers of the Greenwood District in Tulsa, Oklahoma, better known as Black Wall Street.
During the early 20th century, shortly after Oklahoma was admitted as a state, the newly assembled state legislators rushed to pass Jim Crow laws, effectively segregating rail travel and stripping people of color of their right to vote. In August of 1916, the city of Tulsa approved a mandate that disallowed members of different racial groups to reside on any block that was incorporated by three-fourths or more of the other racial group. Though this was found to be an unconstitutional practice the following year, the city of Tulsa continued to enforce this ordinance for the next three decades.
In the midst of the laws and ordinances that were passed when Oklahoma officially became a state, the predominantly black residents of the Greenwood District in Tulsa were able to build a thriving and self-sufficient economy. It had become so prosperous that it eventually came to be known as "Black Wall Street". The town was constructed with the encouragement of Booker T. Washington. During a 1905 visit to community, he was impressed by the cooperation, self-sufficiency, and merit on display in the town. Greenwood had two movie theaters, a plethora of churches, several nightclubs, grocery stores, and even two running newspapers. In addition, the town was filled with young black professionals, ranging from doctors and lawyers to dentists and clergymen. The residents selected their own leaders and raised their own capital to advance their own economic growth. They even took advantage of the opportunities that presented themselves during the nearby oil boom.
But unbeknownst to the residents of Greenwood, that would all change on May 30, 1921. That was the day that an incident occurred on an elevator between and young white woman by the name of Sarah Page and a 19-year-old black shoe shiner by the name of Dick Rowland. The then 17-year-old elevator operator would let out a scream shortly after Dick Rowland entered her cabin, causing Dick Rowland to flee out of fear of being mobbed.
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In spite of questioning Page about the incident and producing no evidence of assault, Rowland would be arrested for the incident the next day, but would be moved to a more secure jail when threats against his life started to roll in. Page informed investigators that Rowland had just grabbed her arm, and she refused to press any charges. However, the Tulsa Tribune, one of two white-owned newspapers in Tulsa at the time, picked up the story and was able to rile up a crowd of white residents. By the evening of May 31st, an angry white mob had marched to the Tulsa courthouse with the intent of lynching Rowland, but upon hearing the news a large group of armed, black Greenwood residents made their way to the courthouse to defend Rowland. After one of the Greenwood residents refused to disarm himself at the order of a member of the white mob, gunshots would ring out and all hell would break loose.
The mob would push the Greenwood residents back to their district and over the next two days would launch an all-out assault on the prosperous town. Experts believe that it resulted in 100-300 casualties. In the aftermath, ten thousand Greenwood residents were left homeless as the town would be burned down. It is speculated the members of the US Armed Forces assisted in the destruction of Black Wall Street, as there were reports of planes dropping bombs on the town during the riot.
Today, the Greenwood District is but a shadow of its former self, now being a predominantly white community with a median income of just under $40k. If any lesson can be learned from this tragic event in black American history, it's that black Americans have the wherewithal to sustain ourselves, but unfortunately there are those who will stop at nothing to destroy what black Americans have built. If black Americans created a strong black economy and network before, we could do it again. However, systems must be put in place to better protect the work of our own hands. The residents of the Greenwood District have proven that, left to our own devices, black Americans are not in need of outside help to become self-sufficient. But in order for there to be a strong black economy in America, we must stand against resistance from outsiders who want to destroy our progress and also against outsiders who have taken it upon themselves to lead our progress. We must maintain our pride and dignity and battle our way into a position where we can once again sustain ourselves.